A designated internal mediator in an organization whose duty is to assist members with conflictresolution and other problems and to serve as an independent consultant to recommend changes to policies or procedures to improve organization effectiveness, efficiency, and humaneness.

This term is derived from Swedish, in which language the suffix -man is not always gender-specific. Nevertheless, the words ombudsperson, ombud, and ombudswoman have been coined to remedy the perceived gender-specificity of ombudsman in English.